the wedding
by canyouplaypretend
Summary: percy, annabeth, and grover reunite for the event of the year - sally and paul's wedding! but of course with two demi-gods and the new lord of the wild there, the wedding can't go off without a hitch. (slight percabeth)


**I was reading The Last Olympian the other day and I was thinking, what happened during Sally and Paul's wedding? If Percy was there, there definitely were ****_some _****monsters so why not add Annabeth and Grover to the mix?**

**Anyways, this is a _really_ long one shot (it's like 19 pages oh my gods) but I hope you don't mind the little fluffy Percabeth I wove in. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series (and I'm glad I don't because Rick Riordan does a pretty bang up job of it). If you don't follow Rick on twitter (camphalfblood), you need to! He is the king of sassiness, and you'll have instant updates about Blood of Olympus! **

* * *

While I should've been doing my homework - maybe starting the lab report that was due last week or the set of geometry problems I hadn't even bothered to look at - I was pacing around my room instead, trying to figure out what I was going to say to Annabeth.

We left Camp Half-Blood a few weeks prior on shaky and awkward terms and haven't spoken since. Normally, she would at least Iris Message me on my birthday (since it was after camp ended and she couldn't really say it to me in person) and we would talk for a little while. This year she simply sent me an email saying, _Happy birthday! Try not to do anything stupid_.

She didn't even say, _Try not do anything stupid, Seaweed Brain. _I'd almost grown fond of the nickname.

And because I wasn't even sure how to respond to that, I didn't. However, it was almost the end of September, meaning I needed to talk her soon. Or else I'd disappoint my mom, who'd act like it didn't really bother her, but her eyes would get a little teary and I'd end up feeling bad until Christmas.

See, her boyfriend of almost ten months proposed to her last month (after getting my blessing of course) and she was planning the wedding. It would be a small event, considering Paul had a small family and my mom had no family, but she wanted to make sure the most important people were there. Including Grover and Annabeth.

I already talked to Grover, since he wasn't acting distant from me, who was more than excited about the whole ordeal.

"Your mom's getting married? Woo-hoo!" He bleated somewhere in there and it sounded hilarious over Iris-Message. "I would love to come, Perrrrcy! When's the wedding?"

"It has to be sometime in October, before the weather starts getting cold. She wants to have it at Montauk."

"I'll be there, don'tcha worry!"

"Well to be honest, G-Man, I think I'm more worried about having to explain to Paul's parents why you'll be eating the silverware."

Talking to Grover was easy. I had absolutely no idea what to say to Annabeth.

I knew one of the main reasons we weren't speaking was because of Luke Castellan, her former crush. Or current, I could never really tell with that relationship. First he betrayed her, then tricked her into holding the sky on her shoulders (almost killing her, I might add), then tried to kill her in a labyrinth, annihilate our beloved camp, and _then_ let Kronos basically take over his body.

And yet, she _still_ had feelings for that jerk.

Of course, she didn't understand why I didn't care for him like I didn't understand why she was infatuated with him. And the tension between us could've been left at just that until my friend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, came along.

Rachel was interesting. She was different from most mortal teenage girls and not just because she could see right through the mist, but because she was rich and hated being rich. Whenever we hung out, she would insist on teaching me about art or dressing up as golden statues to help raise funds for children's art programs or basically anything that didn't revolve around money.

Like Annabeth about architecture, she could talk _for days_ about art and the history of art and the future of art. She had been trying to teach me about art but my ADHD made it hard for me to focus on her and her easel while there was so much else going on in her giant room.

Annabeth hated her immediately.

I couldn't even breath Rachel's name without steam billowing out of Annabeth's ears. I got the hint pretty quickly to just avoid any conversation about Rachel with Annabeth.

Anyways, I realized I was starting to get tired from pacing around my room. I decided to stop worrying about my conversation with Annabeth and just have it. I took a deep breath and went outside of my apartment to the garden out in the back. I turned on the hose and sprayed it towards the sun, creating a little rainbow under the stream of water. I tossed a golden drachma towards the rainbow.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbows, please accept my offering. Annabeth Chase, San Francisco."

The mist shimmered around for a bit until I saw Annabeth in her bedroom, hunched over her desk. Her room was surprisingly messy, papers and clothes strewn all over the floor like she was still getting used to her new home in California. There were boxes piled up next to her hastily made bed and the rug on the floor looked crooked.

Annabeth didn't notice me at first. I almost lost my courage to even say hi but I couldn't swipe away the image. Her curly blonde hair was pulled back into a lazy ponytail, with a few golden strands framing her face. She was wearing a blue tank top and jean shorts and it was fascinating to see her wearing something than the color orange.

I cleared my throat. "Annabeth?"

She jumped back about five feet before she saw me. For a minute, I swore her face lit up and her gray eyes started twinkling until she blinked. "Percy?"

"Um, hi."

"Hey. Is something wrong?" She frowned and then she looked around her room, her eyes widening as if she'd suddenly realized how messy it was. "Oh my gods, um, I'm sorry about the uh, mess -"

"Is this a bad time?" I asked, tired of the tension. "I can call back later -"

"No!" She said quickly and looked away from me again. "I mean, it's good to hear from you. I'm not busy."

"Oh, cool. I was, um, well my mom actually - she uh, Paul proposed to her."

Annabeth's face actually did light up. "Really? That's so exciting! How did he do it?"

"Oh he just took her out to dinner and then popped the question."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and sighed, "You're such a boy. Of course you downplay it. I bet he did it with candles and roses and chocolate, oh! What if he asked for a violinist? That's so romantic!"

She had definitely spent a lot of time with the Aphrodite cabin instead of me over the summer.

"I didn't ask but she said yes -"

"She _did_? Oh my gods, she's getting married! I'm so happy for her!"

"Yeah and she, uh, she wanted you to be there."

"Really? Me? Like at the wedding?"

"Well, like a part of it too."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Well, tell your mom I'm honored. When is it? I'll definitely try to come down there."

"She wants to be in October, just because she wants to have it on the beach and the weather's gonna start getting cold soon. Probably during a long weekend, like Columbus Day weekend. Can you come down? She'll cover your flight and everything."

Annabeth shook her head and waved her hand dismissively until she realized she might cut off our connection. "No that's fine, she already has enough expenses with the wedding. I'll definitely come down, you just confirm the date with me, okay?"

I was about to say okay or something coherent like that when I looked at her eyes for the first time in awhile. Her blue shirt highlighted her startlingly gray eyes and I noticed her already tan skin had become a little more golden, probably due to the excessive sun. Even in shorts and a tank top, she looked like a princess.

"Percy? Are you okay?"

I shook my head out of my daze and realized my arm was starting to cramp up. "Yeah, yeah, um, it's just my arm. But yeah, I'll let you know."

"Cool." She gave me a half smile and hesitated slightly, "And, Percy? I know your arm's cramping up, but uh, do you have some time to talk?"

A smile slipped onto my face and I started to ignore the throbbing in my arm. "Course. How have you been?"

* * *

It wasn't until the rehearsal dinner in Montauk that we realized a huge potential problem.

Annabeth, Grover and I were crowded around the food table, talking about what we had been up to since we'd last seen each other. Grover was telling me about the struggle between balancing his new duties as Lord of the Wild and finding time to see his girlfriend Juniper, when Annabeth gasped.

"Percy. Don't. Move." She whispered very slowly and her hand shifted towards her bronze knife in her pocket. "Hellhound at your 11:00. And it's not Mrs. O'Leary."

Grover's eyes widened and he gulped. "Uh oh."

My eyes moved toward my mom, Paul and his parents over towards the beach house. They weren't paying attention to us, they were too busy talking about whether to have roses or tulips to notice.

"Annabeth, do you have a clear aim of it?" I mouthed.

She blinked twice to indicate yes. I hoped my body was blocking her slow movements to pull out her knife.

"It's moving, Annabeth!" Grover whisper-shouted. "Hurry!"

She took a deep breath and let it out through an O shape of her mouth. Then she raised her knife, as I ducked, into the forest of trees behind me.

A loud cry erupted from the monster as it disintegrated behind us.

The adults chose that moment to turn around.

"Percy? Is everything okay?" My mom called.

I exchanged looks with Annabeth and Grover before giving her a thumbs up. "Yeah. Grover thought he heard something rustling behind us."

"_Di Immortales_," Annabeth cursed as her eyes widened. "What if more attack tomorrow? There's going to be people here! At your mom's _wedding_!"

"And we can't necessarily warn them to watch out for monsters." Grover said hopelessly. "We're doomed."

"No, we have to figure out something." I said suddenly determined to not ruin my mother's day of deserved happiness. "How strong are our scents, Grover?"

Grover snorted. "I can smell you in general from miles away. But being near the ocean especially? You might as well be sending signals into the sky that monsters could see from China. Annabeth, not so much. I mean, no offense, you have a strong scent for a child of Athena but you're not the danger risk here."

"So I doubt overdosing in cologne is gonna help."

"Absolutely not."

"Okay so monster attacks are going to be inevitable." Annabeth stated. She frowned and pursed her lips together. I could see the wheels turning in her gray eyes as if forming a plan. "We'll just have to keep them away from the wedding."

"We could ask Chiron for back-up." Grover muttered mainly to himself. "Camp isn't that far away."

"There wouldn't be enough campers." Annabeth told him. "They're all scattered throughout the year. I bet there's only Clarisse in the Ares cabin, if that."

"What if we just smell really bad?" I suggested. "Grover, didn't you say that Smelly Gabe's scent covered me up for years? What if we just bring smelly people to the wedding?"

They both gave me blank looks.

"We can't do that, Seaweed Brain. It'd ruin the event. A bride does not want to smell body odor when walking down the aisle. And how are we going to find people who smell bad enough to come? I doubt your mom wants strangers at her wedding. Family members aren't going to purposefully smell bad."

"Never mind."

"I guess we can't really prepare for monster attacks when we don't even know what monsters are going to be attacking." Grover said glumly.

"We'll have to be on high alert throughout the entire event." Annabeth sighed. "Even as they're saying their vows."

They began to look completely depressed and I felt like I needed to raise their spirits somehow.

"Well on the bright side," I said slowly. "At least there won't be any gods trying to kill us."

* * *

I was wrong, of course.

Since Hera was still upset with Annabeth and me over what happened a couple months ago, she found it amusing to send cows, her sacred animal, over towards our beach house on the morning of the wedding.

Of course she didn't just send one or two cows. She sent _seven._

Three of them found their way into the room Annabeth was sleeping in and proceeded to try and lick her face. She screamed and woke the rest of us up.

Paul's parents were bewildered and appalled at the appearance of the seven cows on a beach while the rest of us figured they were an unwelcome and ironic wedding gift from Hera.

The problem was, we couldn't kill them or else we'd have to face the wrath of Hera, which was what she most likely wanted. My mom and Paul convinced his parents to go with them outside and make sure the cows hadn't disrupted the event chairs, while we figured out a way to get them out.

Before my mom left she turned back to us and whispered, "I didn't realize you upset her _that_ much."

"This isn't funny." Annabeth snapped bitterly, mostly to herself, as she continued to douse her face with water. "I'd like to see _her_ wake up to cows licking her face."

"Grover, can you try talking to them?" I asked.

He bent towards the cows, who gave a loud snort to him in return. "Nope. They don't like my kind very much."

"We're doomed."

Annabeth huffed and dried her face off. "I don't think so. _She_ can't punish your mom because she's mad at me."

She stomped down the stairs, causing the cows to follow her. If you've never seen three cows trying to follow someone down the stairs, you've never really laughed. I wasn't sure how they managed to get upstairs so quietly but trying to get downstairs was a whole other story. The cows pushed and mooed at each other, trying to see who could get to Annabeth first, and nearly broke the structure of the beach house.

Finally Grover and I managed to calm them down and get one cow to go down the stairs at a time. Once Annabeth lead them outside, she marched confidently towards the trees and disappeared with an army of seven cows behind her.

She was gone for a little while.

My mom came back up the stairs when it was safe. "The cows left us little wedding presents. Paul's cleaning it up now and I'm trying to convince myself that going through with this wedding is a good idea."

If it weren't for Grover, I wasn't sure what would have happened next.

"Sally!" He scolded. "You can't think like that! Hera's not after you, just like the monsters aren't going to be. Your wedding will be beautiful and wonderful, just like you want it to be. We'll make sure of it."

"Aw, don't worry about it mom. We'll keep them out of your way."

She gave us both grateful looks and a hug that nearly crushed us. "Aw, my boys - wait. Where's Annabeth?"

As if on cue, the door to the beach house opened and Annabeth tromped inside. Her curly blonde hair was in a rat's nest around her face and her arms were caked with dirt.

"Good morning, Sally. Sorry about the cows. Hera doesn't really like me. Mind if I take a shower?"

"Absolutely, dear. The guests will be arriving in about three hours so... if anyone needs anything, just let me know!"

She gave us a big smile before disappearing into her own room. I translated her pause more as, _Please leave me alone for the next three hours unless you have happy juice._

Annabeth stomped up the stairs, muttering about stupid cows, and disappeared into the bathroom. Figuring she wasn't going to be coming out for another hour or so, I turned to Grover.

"Paul got this cool TV installed in the living room. Wanna play video games?"

"Bla-ha-ha! Race you there!"

Being the mature boys (or goat-boy, in Grover's case) we were, we raced each other into the living room and began pulling out the cables and games. We had just set everything up (which was no easy feat) when Paul's mother came into the room.

"Percy! Grover! You two should be getting ready! The wedding is in _four_ hours!"

* * *

Grover and I had to stand uncomfortably in our rented tuxes by the entrance of the beach, welcoming Paul's family and friends.

We had to find Grover an extra large pair of tuxedo pants to cover his hairy hindquarters but an extra small pair of loafers to fit onto his hooves. He was wearing his infamous crutches, the ones he had when I first met him, and looked completely awkward.

While my tuxedo fit just fine, the inside was extremely itchy and I restrained from scratching all over myself. I could've sworn someone had placed fleas inside of the clothes because Grover was scratching violently at his legs.

We made a pact to never rent tuxedos from _Weddings in Juno_ again.

One of my teachers from Goode High School, a friend of Paul's, smiled when she saw me. "Percy, you look fantastic! How's Paul doing?"

"Haven't seen him since the cow attack this morning."

Grover elbowed me sharply in the ribs.

"I mean, I'm sure he's doing fine. How are you, Ms. Smart?"

Her eyes widened but she changed the subject. "Very well, very well. I wouldn't suppose Rachel was here?"

I was sure my face turned bright red. The thought had crossed my mind to invite Rachel to the wedding but since my mom never mentioned inviting Rachel, it never occurred to me to ask. It probably was for the best since I wasn't really in the mood for a war between Rachel and Annabeth.

"Um, she couldn't make it."

"Oh that's too bad. Looks like you'll have to do without your partner in crime for a little awhile." She winked at me before heading past us.

Grover frowned at me. "Partner in crime?"

"Long story involving two _empousa_, a band room and Rachel."

"Oh. It almost sounds like you're dating."

I choked on my spit. "What? No. Rachel? No."

Grover gave me a look. "I can read your emotions, Percy. Remember? It's not like you haven't thought about it."

"I _haven't_."

"If you say so."

"I do."

"Whoa, Perrrrcy, isn't it a little early to be saying our vows?"

I laughed with him and punched him in the shoulder, causing my arm to itch violently.

"What's so funny?" Annabeth asked from behind us.

I turned around, about to say _nothing_, but then I looked at her and forgot how to form sentences.

Her blonde, curly hair had been freshly washed and it'd grown longer since the summer. Her owl shaped earrings dangled lightly from her ears and she wore a pearl necklace. Annabeth had never been one to wear much make-up but I thought her eyelashes looked a little darker than usual.

She was wearing blue again. It was a strapless blue dress that stopped just above her knee and fit her athletic frame _very_ well. Like many of the other women here, she was barefoot in the sand with blue polish on her toes. Her tan skin and stormy gray eyes looked like they were glowing against her blue dress.

I didn't want to say something clever like "Um, uh, gah" (my famous words from my meeting with the goddess of beauty herself, Aphrodite) so I refrained from saying anything at all.

Grover was about to say something embarrassing like _Percy just confessed his undying love for me_, when we heard a loud _snap_ from behind that made our blood turn cold.

"What was that?" Grover asked slowly.

Annabeth looked over my shoulder. "We may have a problem. Involving a couple of telkhines. Baby ones, thank the gods. They're not bigger than about four feet."

"And they look hungry." Grover added helpfully.

I turned around and nearly came face to face with a hungry telkhine. Just in the nick of time Annabeth pushed me out of the way, skillfully coming up close to the demon and stabbing it in the gut.

"That was my brother!" Telkhine number two gasped. His beady brown eyes turned murderous as he stared Annabeth down, his sharp claws inching towards her throat. "You'll pay for that, child of Athena."

I pulled my pen out of my pocket and clicked it, turning it instantly into my sword Riptide. "How do you know who she is?"

The telkhine snarled. "You are not forgotten, son of Poseidon. We could smell you from miles away."

He stretched out his claw and I swung my sword. He immediately stepped back.

"Look buddy, we're here at my mom's _wedding_. Scram and I'll spare your life."

"So the rumors are true."

"What rumors?"

"Lots of the demi-gods at the Kronos camp say you're arrogant."

I would've just chopped off his neck right then and there but something stopped me. _Lots_? If there were lots of them joining Kronos's side, just _how many_ were there?

"Don't tell me Ethan Nakamura was one of them."

"He was the first one."

"Percy." Annabeth hissed. "There are people coming."

I looked past the telkhine and saw she was right. Another teacher of mine was coming up the walkway, holding his wife's hand.

I had to get rid of this telkhine quickly but I needed answers.

"Grover, can you stall them? Tell them their car is still running or something. Please hurry."

Grover nodded and swung his crutches past us. "Gotcha!"

I leveled my sword towards the telkhine's nose. "How many demi-gods have joined Kronos's side?"

"You really think I'm gonna answer that?"

He backed up as I put the tip of my sword on his nose. "Try again."

"45." He squeaked. "Please don't -"

I swung my sword anyways, feeling a little bad afterwords. "45 demi-gods?"

"That's a lot." Annabeth said, worry flashing through her eyes.

"Percy!" Mr. Rufus, my geometry teacher, called over.

We turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Rufus and Grover coming towards us. I tried not to groan audibly.

"The place looks great!" Mr. Rufus said. "How's Paul and your mom? Did you do the weekend homework already?"

I forced a smile. "Absolutely! And uh, they're good."

Mr. Rufus grinned like he saw right through my lie, which he probably did. "Is Rachel here?"

At the sound of her name, Annabeth tensed up. She turned towards me and asked, "She's coming?"

"No!" I said quickly, then remembered Mr. Rufus in front of me, frowning as if he had just noticed Annabeth standing very close next to me. "I mean she couldn't make it."

"So she was invited."

"No! I mean, well I wasn't sure since it's my _mom_'s wedding and um, she knows you better -"

"Are you saying I was your second choice?"

"Why are you twisting my words?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"No, you were not second choice. You were my mom's first choice."

"So Rachel was yours."

"I did _not_ say that."

"You implied it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did -"

Grover erupted in a hacking fit behind us. He nudged the two of us with his crutches and we turned to smile simultaneously at Mr. Rufus.

Mr. Rufus weakly returned the smile. "We should head inside. See you in a few, Percy."

Grover shook his head and gave us a look after they left.

"What?" I asked.

"You two give me migraines. Satyrs don't get migraines."

"Hey Grover, can you say the word satyrs a little louder?" Annabeth said crossly. She was clearly not over the whole Rachel thing.

He rolled his eyes and turned to me. "Get any information out of that telkhine?"

"There's about 45 demi-gods on Kronos's side." I informed him. "And as if that weren't enough, they have monsters too. We're at a mere 50 campers."

"But that's besides the point." Annabeth said, giving us a look. "Tonight it is about Percy's mom, not the war. We'll deal with that when it's time. Today we'll just have fun and pretend we're regular mortals."

"Regular mortals that get attacked by telkhines, hellhounds and cows." I noted.

"Exactly."

* * *

After the telkhine, we only had a close encounter with an evil tree spirit that Grover managed to put to sleep with his reed pipes. The wedding was about to start soon so I was feeling hopeful that maybe for once, luck would come to our side.

And then we noticed the _six_ Scythian Dracanae sitting among the guests.

Annabeth squeaked. "_Di Immortales!_ Six? Six!"

One of them turned around and we ducked behind a cousin of Paul's before she could see us.

We managed to sneak back into the beach house, avoiding being seen by the other _dracanae_. There was some chaos going on with one of the bridesmaids' dress so Paul's mother didn't notice us run upstairs to the room Grover and I were sharing.

"We can't take _six_ _dracanae!_" Grover hissed, starting to pace around the room. "Especially when they're scattered along the rest of the guests!"

Annabeth and I sat down on my bed and watched him pace.

"We need a plan." I said helpfully.

"The cows!" Annabeth suddenly exclaimed.

Grover stopped and gave her a weird look. "You want to ask Hera to send us _more_ cows?"

"No goat boy, the ones that attacked this morning are still in the forest." Annabeth explained, starting to pace around like Grover. "I remembered seeing this gate when we first drove up here so I lead the cows over to the gate. There's a nice little Victorian house whose yard has seven angry cows."

"What's your idea?" I asked.

"I'll sneak back into the little forest clearing and release the cows. Then I'll lead them back to the beach where everyone will be disturbed by the cows. They'll all get out of their seats while Percy pretends to sneak into the forest, catching the attention of the _dracanae_. We'll launch a surprise attack from inside."

It was risky and had potential for a _lot_ of flaws but it was the only thing we had so far.

"It's just crazy enough that it might work."

* * *

After Annabeth had snuck back outside, Grover and I went downstairs to warn the upcoming bride and groom.

Paul was in the kitchen with Mr. Rufus and his best man. They were holding wine glasses, laughing at something the best man said.

I cleared my throat. "Um, Paul? Can we talk to you for a moment?"

Paul excused himself and followed us towards the door. "What's up guys?"

"Oh nothing much." Grover started to say.

"We just have a slight problem." I said slowly, hoping Paul understood what I was insinuating.

His eyebrows raised. "Oh dear."

"Annabeth's taking care of it." I assured him. "However, we um, we need to bring the cows back."

He knit his eyebrows. "Pardon?"

"It's the only way." Grover said quickly. "They shouldn't cause too much disturbance."

Paul hesitated. "So you want me to bring the cows back out here?"

"No! Annabeth's doing that part. But we just wanted you to not worry." I said uselessly. It was clear Paul was already more than worried.

"Oh. Thanks for the thought."

I patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good guy, Paul. We'll take care of it!"

Then we had to tell my mom.

I knocked on the door to the room where my mom, Paul's mom, and Paul's sister were getting ready in.

Paul's sister flung the door open. "Percy! What are you doing? You're supposed to be welcoming the guests in."

"Where's Annabeth?" Paul's mother asked frantically. "She's supposed to be getting ready in here!"

I met my mom's eyes through the mirror. She was putting on blue earrings and she faltered when she saw the look on my face. I saw panic flash across her face.

She looked beautiful otherwise. Her brown hair had been pulled back in a bun with loose curls falling out slightly. She was wearing a blue dress that went down to her ankles, like a prom gown. I felt bad that I was the reason she opted out of wearing a traditional white wedding gown but I thought the blue suited her better.

"Don't worry," I said mostly to her. "We'll handle it. Annabeth will be back shortly."

"Well where did she go?"

"She had to take care of some business. It's all under control. Do _not_ worry."

This didn't seem to calm down my mom anymore than it had Paul but we left them alone after that.

"Oh my God - is that a _cow_!" Someone shrieked from outside.

I exchanged a look with Grover. It was time.

We both went outside and parted ways, each preparing for our part of the plan. Grover actually snuck into the forest while I waltzed around the event chairs where guests were screaming and trying their best to get away from the cows.

_Good job, Annabeth_, I thought as I tried to think about anything other than the six _dracanae _staring at me.

I started working my way over to the forest when the plan almost went horribly wrong. The _dracanae_ had started getting out of their chairs and coming towards me but then Mr. Rufus stepped in front of me and nearly ruined everything.

"Percy, what in the world -"

"I'm not exactly sure what's going on right now, Mr. Rufus but I think I need to go find my friend Annabeth who's in the forest trying to make sure more cows won't come out so I'll see you soon."

I said that pretty quickly and I was sure Mr. Rufus only comprehended a fourth of my speech. I pushed past him, highly aware of the monsters on my tail, and delved into the forest.

I broke out into a small run, to convince the _dracanae_ to follow me farther into the woods, when I literally ran into Grover.

He yelped and I helped him back to his feet. "Sorry G-Man."

"Percy Jackson," A snakelike voice hissed behind me. She drew out the "s" sounds in my name, sending shivers up my spine. We whirled around to find ourselves corned by six snake women.

"Now what do we do?" Grover squeaked, clutching his reed pipes for dear life.

I scanned the area. I didn't see Annabeth but I knew she was close by. It was hard to describe but I had a feeling she was somewhere close to me. She had to have her invisibility cap on. I figured if she could give the _dracanae _a surprise attack, then we might actually survive this and not ruin my mother's wedding.

I locked eyes with Grover, hoping he understood things weren't totally hopeless, and turned my back to three of the _dracanae._ It might have been the stupidest thing I've ever done - and I've done some _very_ stupid things - but I trusted Annabeth.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

The snake ladies behind me hissed and cackled and I tried not to wince in fear. The ones in front of me were starting to step towards me.

"We would have preferred your allegiance but Lord Kronos has other plans for you, son of Poseidon," The lead dragon woman announced, drawing out the "s" sounds again. "He requires that we make sure your soul will be in the Underworld by the end of today."

I took a slow, steady breath. Grover guarded my back but I could feel him shaking next to me.

_Anytime now, Annabeth, anytime...but anytime very soon would be much appreciated._

"Too bad that's not going to happen." I informed her, before whipping out Riptide and charging her. I sensed the other two _dracanae_ swooping in on my left and right. The queen dragon lady raised her sword up to meet mine and I would've been ripped to shreds if my wildcard hadn't rushed into play.

The _dracanae_ on my left shrieked loudly, disintegrating into monster dust. Using the two monster's surprise to my advantage, I brought the sword down on the lead dragon woman and whirled around to my right. Before she could even open her mouth, I sliced at her waist, where there should've been legs sprouting out but instead she sported twin serpent trunks.

I turned around behind me, my sword still in its attacking position, only to find a sweaty Grover and a breathless but now visible Annabeth. The other three monsters were gone and I figured we had done good. Annabeth turned towards me, sticks in her hair and a fresh scratch on the bottom of her chin, her gray eyes twinkling,

"So how about that wedding we promised we wouldn't ruin?"

* * *

Paul's mother was not pleased with our appearances as we trudged out of the forest area and gave us a stern lecture about not running off ever again.

It didn't matter that we just saved my mother's wedding from being overrun by monsters but we decided not to mention that little detail as Paul's sister scrutinized Annabeth's smudged make-up, scarred chin, and dirty hair.

The fact that Grover and I were red-faced and sweaty in our expensive rental tuxes did not pass my soon to be step grandmother's attention.

Twenty minutes later - after the chairs had been rearranged and the guests seated again and Annabeth, Grover and I were considered decent - the wedding could officially began. Albeit an hour or so late.

As I waited behind Grover and stood next to Annabeth, I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer up to my least favorite goddess.

_I know you hate me, Hera, but marriages and weddings are your specialty. And my mom is a special woman. Please - pretty, pretty please - let the rest of this night go by smoothly. Not for me, but for her. She truly deserves one happy evening._

Annabeth squeezed my hand and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry."

I smiled at her as we followed Grover and one of Paul's cousins down the aisle. I became hyper aware that Annabeth was holding my hand, instead of linking arms, but I let it slide for the moment. I would've been embarrassed under different circumstances but it'd been a _long_ day.

I took that moment to whisper to Annabeth, "Of course you were my first choice", and although she didn't look at me, her big smile was good enough for me.

As if Hera answered my prayers, there were no more monster sightings and the sun seemed to shine specifically on my mother as she appeared at the front of the aisle. Everyone stood up as she walked gracefully down the aisle, her blue dress looking radiant against her tan skin. Behind us, the sea was calm and quiet. The waves were barely nipping at the shore. I caught my mother's eye and smiled as Poseidon silently blessed the marriage.

The ceremony was nice. Paul and my mom couldn't stop smiling at each other while the minister recited his words.

"If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace." He paused briefly and looked up at the crowd, everyone sitting silently. The silence was an unbearable five seconds and I found myself releasing a breath I wasn't aware I was holding when he continued to speak.

The vows were sweet. Due to my ADHD, I found myself zoning out during the ceremony and trying to avoid moving too much. I took the hint when Grover subtly elbowed me in the rib. I got the general gist of things however - my mom loved Paul, Paul loved my mom, they were happy they found each other, etc.

"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The minister said with a delighted smile.

I almost averted my eyes when Paul's lips met my mom's (mainly because it's just plain weird watching your parents kiss) but I clapped along with the rest of the crowd. Unintentionally, I glanced in Annabeth's direction who quickly looked away when we locked eyes.

We followed my mom and Paul back down the aisle and the guests immediately started swarming them. Figuring my mom could handle the attention, I stepped back with Annabeth and Grover and _relaxed_.

"Well that was fun." Grover stated as we plopped down in the plastic chairs.

"A little different than traveling across the country to find Zeus's stolen lightning bolt." I added with a chuckle.

"Or being trapped on a bus with three Furies." Annabeth said with a content sigh. "I think we handled ourselves nicely today, boys."

"Not too shabby." Grover agreed.

"We should celebrate."

"How?" I asked. "By not dying?"

Annabeth looked behind her, where most of the guests were congratulating my mom and Paul and leaving, and hurried over to a table where miscellaneous snacks were strewn about.

She rushed back over to us, an apple in her hand, and the same wild expression she had when she was 12, that used to make me wary.

But almost four years later, I found it intriguing.

Maybe normal teenagers would've celebrated by stealing a bottle of wine from the liquor cabinet in the basement of the beach house, but we were nowhere near normal teenagers. In less than a year, we would be preparing to fight the war of our lives against an evil titan lord who claimed the body of our former friend and trying to prevent the downfall of Olympus and life as we knew it.

All because I was born.

So instead of thinking negatively or bitterly or anything miserable like that, I focused on Annabeth's laugh and Grover's enthusiasm and tried not to think about the fact that in the morning they'd both be going separate ways. Annabeth would be taking a morning flight to San Francisco and Grover would be heading out, trying to inform the nature spirit of the great Pan's passing.

Right then, we would pretend we were normal. No monsters, no gods, no demi-gods, no wars, no prophecies, no Rachel, no Luke, no Council of the Elders, no stuff like that. And it'd be like old times.

So I smirked at her and took the apple out of her hands.

"As long as Grover promises not to eat the apple, I think this will be a wonderful celebration."

**Hope you liked it!**


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